The Simpsons (season 27)

The Simpsons (season 27)
Digital download cover
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	22
Release
Original network	Fox
Original release	September 27, 2015 – present

The twenty-seventh season of the animated television series The Simpsons began airing on Fox in the United States on September 27, 2015. On October 28, 2014, executive producer Al Jean announced that Season 27 went into production, renewing the series through the 2015–16 season.^[1]

Some guest stars for this season include Blake Anderson, Kristen Bell, David Copperfield, Lena Dunham, Kelsey Grammer, Nick Kroll, Yo-Yo Ma, George Takei and Edward James Olmos. Carl Zealer, who won a competition to be animated into The Simpsons, appeared in the episode "Halloween of Horror".

On May 14, 2015, showrunner Al Jean announced that veteran Simpsons voice actor Harry Shearer had left the show to pursue other work after his contract expired. However, on July 7, he returned to the show after signing a new deal with five other cast members.^[2]

The season premiere deals with Homer being diagnosed with narcolepsy, his breaking up with Marge, and falling for a pharmacist. In this season, Homer will vote in 2016.^[3]

Episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code	U.S. viewers (millions)
575	1	"Every Man's Dream"	Matthew Nastuk	J. Stewart Burns	September 27, 2015	TABF14	3.28[4]
Homer and Marge go through a trial separation, during which Homer dates a pharmacist. Guest stars: Adam Driver as Adam Sackler, Lena Dunham as Candace/Hannah Horvath, Laura Ingraham as Therapist and Jemima Kirke, Zosia Mamet and Allison Williams as Candace's friends
576	2	"Cue Detective"	Timothy Bailey	Joel H. Cohen	October 4, 2015	TABF17	6.02[5]
Bart and Lisa search for Homer's barbecue grill when it is stolen right after he is challenged to a cookoff. Guest stars: Alton Brown as Himself, Bobby Moynihan as Tyler Boom, Edward James Olmos as Pit Master and Ben Schwartz as Clerk
577	3	"Puffless"	Rob Oliver	J. Stewart Burns	October 11, 2015	TABF19	3.31[6]
Jacqueline decides to reveal the truth: her husband died because of lung cancer, but didn't say so before because back then, people were reluctant to admit it. This revelation shocks Patty and Selma, who decide to quit smoking once and for all and burn all their cigarettes, which unfortunately causes Jacqueline's house to burn down. However, Selma's relapse causes an angry Patty to move in with Marge and Homer. Meanwhile, when Maggie makes some new animal friends, she must go on a rescue mission when one of them is taken by Cletus. Guest stars: Jon Lovitz as Cigarette and Yo-Yo Ma as himself
578	4	"Halloween of Horror"	Mike B. Anderson	Carolyn Omine	October 18, 2015	TABF22	3.69[7]
Angry Halloween decoration salesmen invade the Simpson household after Homer takes down his Everscream Terrors decorations to avoid scaring Lisa. Guest stars: Blake Anderson as Dickie and Nick Kroll as Lem Note: Unlike the Treehouse of Horror episodes, this episode takes place in the normal series timeline.
579	5	"Treehouse of Horror XXVI"	Steven Dean Moore	Joel H. Cohen	October 25, 2015	TABF18	6.75[8]
In the twenty-sixth annual Simpsons Halloween special, Sideshow Bob finally kills Bart, Homer appears as a sea monster in a parody of Godzilla, and Lisa and Milhouse get superpowers from radiation with poor Bart somehow missing out and with Maggie joining the fun. Guest stars: Kelsey Grammer as Sideshow Bob and Chris Wedge as Scrat
580	6	"Friend with Benefit"	Matthew Faughnan	Rob LaZebnik	November 8, 2015	TABF21	3.48[9]
Lisa becomes friends with a rich girl named Harper, whose father becomes friends with Homer, but Lisa becomes concerned that Harper is a little too entitled. Guest stars: Kristen Bell as Harper and David Copperfield
581	7	"Lisa with an 'S'"	Bob Anderson	Stephanie Gillis	November 22, 2015	TABF20	5.64[10]
Homer loses $5000 that he doesn't have in a poker bet, and is forced to loan Lisa out to Broadway star Laney Fontaine to pay back his debt. Marge and Homer later realize they've made a terrible mistake and must go to New York to retrieve Lisa.
582	8	"Paths of Glory"	Steven Dean Moore	Michael Ferris	December 6, 2015	VABF01	5.53[11]
Lisa tries to better the reputation of Springfield's first female inventor by searching an asylum for her first invention. While in the asylum, she and Bart find a sociopath's notebook, causing Bart to take the notebook home and pretend to be the sociopath that wrote it.
583	9	"Barthood"	Rob Oliver	Dan Greaney	December 13, 2015	VABF02	5.97[12]
The story of Bart's life, spanning from six years old to adulthood, is told.
584	10	"The Girl Code"	Chris Clements	Rob LaZebnik	January 3, 2016	VABF03	4.41[13]
When Homer loses his job due to Marge's social media post, he begins working as a dishwasher at a Greek restaurant. Meanwhile, Lisa creates an app that can predict the effect any post on social media will have. Guest stars: Stephen Merchant as Conrad and Kaitlin Olson as Quinn
585	11	"Teenage Mutant Milk-Caused Hurdles"	Timothy Bailey	Joel H. Cohen	January 10, 2016	VABF04	8.33[14]
Bart experiences early puberty after drinking a milk substitute filled with bad hormones, and ends up competing with Skinner for the affections of his new teacher, Mrs. Berrera. Guest star: Sofía Vergara as Mrs. Berrera
586	12	"Much Apu About Something"	Bob Anderson	Michael Price	January 17, 2016	VABF05	3.95[15]
Sanjay's son Jay takes over the Kwik-E-Mart, but Apu is displeased when he turns it into a food market. Meanwhile, Bart attempts to prank the new store, despite the fact that he told Homer he wouldn't prank anymore. Guest star: Utkarsh Ambudkar as Jay
587	13	"Love Is in the N2-O2-Ar-CO2-Ne-He-CH4"	Mark Kirkland	John Frink	February 14, 2016	VABF07	2.89[16]
On Valentine's Day, Professor Frink makes himself attractive to women by using science to transform himself into a more attractive man. Meanwhile, Marge, Bart, and Lisa visit Grampa. Guest star: Glenn Close as Mona Simpson
588	14	"Gal of Constant Sorrow"	Matthew Nastuk	Carolyn Omine	February 21, 2016	VABF06	3.10[17]
Bart and Lisa take in a homeless woman to live with them, where they discover that she is a talented folk singer. Meanwhile, Homer accidentally traps the cat in the walls of the house. Guest stars: Bob Boilen, Kelsey Grammer as Sideshow Bob, Natalie Maines as Hettie (singing voice) and Kate McKinnon as Hettie
589	15	"Lisa the Veterinarian"	Steven Dean Moore	Dan Vebber	March 6, 2016	VABF08	3.09[18]
Lisa becomes a veterinarian after performing CPR on a raccoon, and learns a harsh lesson when the neglected class hamster, Nibbles, dies. Meanwhile, Marge makes a little extra money cleaning up crime scenes. Guest star: Michael York as Dr. Budgie
590	16	"The Marge-ian Chronicles"	Chris Clements	Brian Kelley	March 13, 2016	VABF09	3.07[19]
Lisa signs up for the Mars One Space Colony, and Marge comes along to try and talk her out of it. Guest stars: Tom Scharpling as Paul and Jon Wurster as Barry
591	17	"The Burns Cage"	Rob Oliver	Rob LaZebnik	April 3, 2016	VABF10	2.32[20]
After Smithers is crushed by Mr. Burns' lack of affection towards him, other characters attempt to find a boyfriend for him. Meanwhile, Milhouse competes against a new boy for the lead role in a school production of Casablanca, so he can act alongside his own unrequited love, Lisa. Guest star: George Takei as himself
592	18	"How Lisa Got Her Marge Back"	Bob Anderson	Jeff Martin	April 10, 2016	VABF11	2.55[21]
Lisa and Marge are having problems, so they take a weekend trip to Capital City to attend a performance of Bad News Bears: The Musical. Meanwhile, Bart teams up with Maggie to trick people, after he becomes frustrated that everyone expects his pranks. Guest star: Andrew Rannells as himself
593	19	"Fland Canyon"	Michael Polcino	J. Stewart Burns	April 24, 2016	VABF12	2.77[22]
Homer recalls the story of when the Simpson family went on a vacation to the Grand Canyon with the Flanders family.
594	20	"To Courier with Love"[23]	Timothy Bailey	Bill Odenkirk	May 8, 2016	VABF14	TBA
The Simpson family goes on a trip to Paris, and Homer becomes the courier of a secret briefcase.
595	21	"Simprovised"	Matthew Nastuk	John Frink[24]	May 15, 2016[25]	VABF13	TBA
596	22[26]	"Orange Is the New Yellow"	Chris Clements[27]	Eric Horsted[28]	May 22, 2016[29]	VABF15	TBA

References

1. Wagmeister, Elizabeth (2015-05-04). "'The Simpsons' Renewed for Two More Seasons". variety.com. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
2. Snierson, Dan (2015-07-07). "Harry Shearer returning to The Simpsons". ew.com. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
3. Birnbaum, Debra (2015-06-07). "'Simpsons' EP Al Jean on Homer's 2016 Vote, Another Movie & the Star He Still Wants". Variety. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
4. Dixon, Dani (2015-09-29). "Sunday Final Ratings: 'Bob's Burgers' Adjusted Down, '60 Minutes' Adjusted Up + 'Sunday Night Football'". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
5. Porter, Rick (2015-10-06). "Sunday final ratings: 'Blood & Oil,' 'The Simpsons' adjusted up, 'Madam Secretary' adjusted down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
6. Porter, Rick (2015-10-13). "Sunday final ratings: 'The Good Wife' and 'Last Man on Earth' adjusted up, plus final NFL numbers". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved 2015-10-13.
7. Porter, Rick (October 20, 2015). "Sunday final ratings: 'The Good Wife', 'Madam Secretary' and 'The Simpsons' adjusted up, plus Final NFL Numbers". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
8. Porter, Rick (October 27, 2015). "Sunday final ratings: 'The Simpsons,' 'The Good Wife' and 'Last Man on Earth' adjust up". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
9. Porter, Rick (November 10, 2015). "Sunday final ratings: 'Family Guy' and 'Once Upon a Time' adjust up". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
10. Porter, Rick (November 24, 2015). "Sunday final ratings: AMAs and scripted shows steady, plus final NFL numbers". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
11. Porter, Rick (December 8, 2015). "Sunday final ratings: 'Once Upon a Time' and 'The Simpsons' adjust down, 'Quantico' adjusts up". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
12. Porter, Rick (December 15, 2015). "Sunday final ratings: 'Blood & Oil' finale adjusts up (not that it matters)". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
13. Porter, Rick (January 6, 2016). "Sunday final ratings: 'Undercover Boss' adjusts up, premieres stay low". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
14. Porter, Rick (January 12, 2016). "Sunday final ratings: 'Simpsons' still at a season high after downward adjustment". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
15. Porter, Rick (January 20, 2016). "Sunday final ratings: 'The Good Wife' and 'Family Guy' adjust up". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
16. Porter, Rick (February 17, 2016). "Sunday final ratings: 'Bachelor' special and 'Cooper Barrett' adjust up". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
17. Porter, Rick (February 23, 2016). "Sunday final ratings: 'Shark Tank' adjusts down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
18. Porter, Rick (March 8, 2016). "Sunday final ratings: 'Madam Secretary' adjusts down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
19. Porter, Rick (March 15, 2016). "Sunday final ratings: '60 Minutes' adjusts up, 'Carmichael Show' and 'Hollywood Game Night' adjust down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
20. Porter, Rick (April 5, 2016). "Sunday final ratings: ACM Awards and all scripted shows hold". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
21. Porter, Rick (April 12, 2016). "Sunday final ratings: 'Once Upon a Time,' 'Simpsons,' 'Quantico' adjust up; 'Carmichael' and 'Crowded' adjust down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
22. Porter, Rick (April 26, 2016). "Sunday final ratings: 'Once Upon a Time,' 'Simpsons' and all others hold". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
23. "Al Jean Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2016-03-25.
24. "Al Jean on Twitter: "@fred_malcolm Frink!"". Twitter.com. Retrieved 2016-03-13.
25. "Al Jean on Twitter: "@87Loco87 @TheSimpsons yep"". Twitter.com. 2016-02-16. Retrieved 2016-03-13.
26. "Al Jean on Twitter". Twitter. 2015-09-16.
27. "Al Jean on Twitter". Twitter. 2015-09-19.
28. "Al Jean on Twitter". Twitter. 2015-09-18.
29. "Chris Ledesma on Twitter". Twitter. 2015-07-01.